Catch me if You Can!
by TheHaiku
Summary: Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji are waiting patiently for Asuma-sensei to return with the ramen he promised them after training. While Chouji sits and watches with his chips in hand, Shikamaru and Ino decide to play a little game of tag to pass the time...


"CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, SHIKAMARU!" Ino laughed, as she hopped from one tree branch to the next, Nara Shikamaru chasing her from behind. Chouji looked from below, munching on his barbeque chips, watching as his teammates laughed in perfect harmony from above. He smiled when he saw how happy Shikamaru looked; going after Yamanaka Ino like his life depended on it.

They were all currently in their training area, a forest with trees surrounding a small place, with necessary equipment, to practice in. Asuma sensei decided to get the team ramen, leaving them all to take a break and enjoy themselves while they waited. Ino and Shikamaru overcame their boredom with a game of tag, while Chouji was eating to satisfy his ever-growing hunger.

"Come back here, troublesome woman!" Shikamaru teased, giving a toothy grin to Ino who ran ahead of him, giggling.

"You've got to catch me first, slow poke!" She replied, sticking her tongue out playfully to the pineapple-haired Chunin. He returned the gesture, causing Ino to giggle even more, hopping higher into the evergreens. Shikamaru followed, hoping she wouldn't do anything dangerous in this innocent game of tag.

"Don't get hurt, okay Ino?" he demanded, jumping to another branch. "I don't want to have to deal with an injured teammate."

"Well that's nice…" the blonde joked, looking down at Shikamaru. "Can't stop being lazy even for your own friends?" smirking, Ino made a face at him. He chuckled, jumping onto the same branch as her, catching her by surprise.

His breath tickled her earlobe as he whispered, his face centimeters away from her own. "Who says I can't?"

Ino's eyes widened as an unknown tinge of red appeared across her nose. "Shika?!"

"Tag…" Shikamaru said, poking the top of her head. "You're it!"

Shikamaru's laughter was all that was heard as he jumped lower, and lower from the trees, and away from Ino. She was unable to move as she recalled the sensation she got when Shikamaru's breath met her neck…

Shaking off the goose bumps, she went after her ally. "You're gonna get it, Nara!"

Chouji couldn't help but notice the sudden shakiness that Ino gave off as she ran after Shikamaru. He also saw a slight pink tint remain on her face every time Shika looked back at her. Taking interest, Chouji stopped crunching on his chips to see what was going on.

When Ino was close enough, she snickered before jumping right at the shadow-user. "CHAAAAAAA!!!!!" she yelled, glomping Shikamaru full force off the bough of the tree and onto the grassy training area. They rolled on the field a couple times before coming to a gentle halt. Not seeing the tackle coming, Shikamaru shot his head up on instinct, only to come face to face with Ino's sparkling eyes.

His mouth went dry, and his breathing stopped immediately, not used to being this close to his teammate before. Blushing, he processed the position they were in, into his mind.

Ino was right on top of Shikamaru, practically lying down, her legs awkwardly placed in between his own. Her hands supported her balance on the ground beside his shoulders, and Shikamaru was holding her hips, used to this tendency when he caught her during a jutsu. He swallowed, a bead of sweat traveling across the side of his head.

She giggled, the sound angelic to Shikamaru's ears, and she teased his hormones by placing her forehead against his. A strand of her radiant and glowing hair fell onto his cheek, causing him to feel a slight tickling sensation. _"Taaaaagg…"_ she breathed. "YOU'RE IT!"

Ino was about to stand up to run only to fall back onto Shikamaru's chest, for he suddenly wrapped his legs around her waist and pulled her down with all his strength. Their faces were once again awkwardly close, as they both pondered what just happened. Shikamaru had no idea what he was doing, but for some odd reason he didn't want her to move. Ino turned red from anger, and embarrassment as she tried to wiggle her way out of his hold. "Not so fast, _Ino._" His voice was stern and enticing, as he hugged her tighter, so as not to lose his grip on the girl's slender waist.

"Shikamaru," Ino began, her tone showing her irritation. "Let me go!"

She tried not to think about Shikamaru so much at that moment. Even so, she felt slightly secure within his embrace, and yearned to hear his seductive voice once again. Shaking her head, she thought of how wrong they must have looked on the ground, on top of each other, in the middle of the training area. Wait… where was the training area? Chouji was nowhere in sight, making this moment all the more uncomfortable. _Alone_ in the forest, in a guilty position with your supposed teammate and or best friend… what else could go wrong?!

Shikamaru, unable to control himself, tilted his head to the right and leaned upward, so their mouths were almost touching. He fought against his inner self, which tried hard to persuade him to experience the feeling of Ino's lips on his own. Why his inner self told him this, he did not know. He always did have this type of attraction towards Ino, and the tension between them made it even worse. Honestly, he could say that the only reason why he doesn't like Sasuke is because he was stealing Ino away from him. _Oi, this is so troublesome…_

Ino, on the other hand, was trying her hardest to break free as soon as she felt his breathing on her lower lip. It was no use, for Shikamaru's strength was far more advanced than hers. While her inner self, like Shikamaru's, deeply longed for the touch of his lips, she tried not to give in to her temptation. Sasuke was the only one for her! He's a lot cooler than Nara. She will not feel anything toward her best friend! That was a huge rule in friendship.

No attraction levels whatsoever.

That, and Shikamaru _couldn't _be the one. He's too… Shikamaru-ish. And besides, he liked Temari, one of the sand-sibs of Suna, the sand village. The thought of her always made her grimace, especially with Shikamaru. She didn't know why, but she never considered Temari a friend, let alone acquaintance.

…Not that she was jealous or anything…

Yet why was Shika possibly making a move on her? That couldn't be it… they're just friends! Shikamaru pulled her down a little more, so their lips were dramatically near. He was struggling against himself, about to give in, his eyes half shut. Ino couldn't move, her cheeks turning hot as fire. She had already stopped trying to break free, knowing it would get her nowhere. Her eyes drooped until they were half closed as well, staring at his alluring mouth.

There was silence with the exception of their hard breathing after playing tag, and the sound of two heartbeats, going at the same rate, as though there were only one. They could barely take the stress between them, sweating and reddening to their extent.

Ino spoke in a whisper, so it tickled the Chunin's mouth._"Shikamaru…"_

Finally, Shikamaru couldn't take it anymore. Her voice totally broke his concentration and he needed to let all of his feeling out of his head and heart that were bottled up inside of him at that moment. He breathed in sharply, putting a hand to the back of her head. "AW DAMN IT, INO!" he yelled, before bringing her head down so their lips met.

Startled, Ino's eyes shot wide open, and she froze. What just happened? Reality soon hit, and her mind was back on track, realizing that Shikamaru Nara, her so called best friend, just kissed her, smack dab on the lips. Ino was lip-locking with her teammate… SHIKAMARU. _SHIKAMARU! _She couldn't believe what she was experiencing at that moment. Unable to react, she just stared, blinking, making sure she wasn't dreaming.

Shikamaru caught this as a bad sign. His eyes were closed tightly, yet he could feel Ino's shocked gaze boring through him. He knew this was a bad idea… she was crushing on Sasuke anyway! His heart began to beat faster, and he pressed his lips to hers a little harder, wanting a reaction. He got none, and panicked, his throat paining him from how bad this hurt his heart.

Just about when he was going to give up, the unexpected happened. As soon as Ino thought of their past, she knew how much he meant to her. He always protected her, made her feel like herself, and never allowed her to be sad by making her feel better again. She remembered all that he had done for her, more than Sasuke could have ever done. Shikamaru was the only one who listened to her intently, and he cared for her just as much. He let her feel like a part of something, and now she might have known what it was.

Finally, she smiled slightly and gradually closed her eyes, kissing him back, deeply. She had to kiss him back… it was like destiny. Not holding back at all, Ino brushed a hand through his silky and dark ponytail while she was able to.

Now Shikamaru was in shock, and he was also thrilled at the same exact time. Mentally cheering to himself, he felt himself hug Ino's waist, relaxing at last. He finally found his one true love, and he thought the experience of it would be a lot more troublesome than this.

"WHOA… Look at them_ go…" _

Shikamaru and Ino's eyes shot open, and they scrambled off of each other immediately after hearing Chouji's startled voice interrupt their make out session. The shadow-user groaned, looking up to see Asuma-sensei and their fellow teammate, Akimichi Chouji, looking down at him and Ino.

"Err…" the teacher started, scratching the back of his head. "Are we interrupting something?"

Ino buried her face in her hands and whimpered, embarrassed. Shikamaru wiped his mouth rapidly, trying to get Ino's strawberry-flavored lip-gloss off from the kiss. Chouji tried his best not to burst out laughing, and pointed at the two. "I KNEW IT! I told you so, sensei!"

Asuma rolled his eyes, and the lovers only gaped up at them. Ino growled menacingly. "SHUT UP, CHOUJI!" she screamed, standing abruptly and charging at the large boy, who dropped his bag of chips and ran for dear life.

As they were doing this, Shikamaru stood up and dusted himself off, reddening, silently making his way over to his teacher. "Um… sorry you had to see that, sir…" he mumbled, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, nervously. "Do you mind not telling anyone about this? It'll be too troublesome."

Asuma-sensei chuckled. "Of course not, Shikamaru." He started. "Who knew you had it in you, anyway?"

Glaring at him, Shikamaru crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. He watched as Ino pounced upon Chouji and started clawing at everything she saw; he noted on how red she was. Grinning, Shikamaru answered.

"Honestly," he smiled warmly at the sight of her. "I'm thinking no one did."


End file.
